


From the Ashes

by fhsa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, First Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-13
Updated: 2007-09-13
Packaged: 2019-02-05 18:29:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12799869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fhsa_archivist/pseuds/fhsa_archivist
Summary: Set at the end of the season 3 episode Covenant and AU from that point.  Lex leaves Smallville with Chloe after his father's attempt to kill her...





	From the Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Haven, the archivist: This story was originally archived at [Fandom Haven Story Archive (FHSA)](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Fandom_Haven_Story_Archive), was scheduled to shut down at the end of 2016. To preserve the archive, I began working with the OTW to transfer the stories to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. If you are this creator and the work hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Fandom Haven Story Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/fhsa/profile).

prompt: I know you haven't made your mind up yet/But I would never do you wrong

 

It had taken them a long time to reach this point. It wasn't any sort of milestone, not really, it simply marked the first time he and Chloe had stayed in one place for 6 consecutive months. Moving on hadn't been an option, and blessedly Perth had provided the anonymity they both craved and the medical skills Chloe had desperately needed. 

 

The poison should have killed him. It would have killed anyone else, anyone without his superior immune system. The explosion should have killed her, but it hadn't, and Lex told her every day how beautiful she still was, how her spirit still shone out of her eyes and transcended the burns and scars. Sometimes there was even enough of the old Chloe left to smile and pretend she believed him. 

 

He had arranged for his and Chloe's hasty departure from the Metropolis hospital while Jonathan Kent still lay unconscious in ICU. No one had seen Clark for days and Lex told himself he didn't care. 

 

Lionel Luther may never have appreciated it, but Lex was every bit his son. Over the years, he had squirreled money away in various locations around the globe just in the event that he might one day be in need of anonymity and cash. When that day came, Lex had taken Chloe with him and followed his contingency plan. Their first destination had been Basel, Switzerland, where the private surgeon and Chloe's the medical expenses had eaten away a good chunk of the carefully hoarded money. After only a month there, as long as Lex dared to stay, a chartered jet took them to Vienna, and then to Israel, where doctors were making incredible advances with reconstructive surgery and grafting. When tensions there escalated, they made their way by boat to Australia, to Perth, where they shared a small apartment that Lex pretended was enough while Chloe pretended to care. 

 

The apartment that Lex had secured for them was in an older, urban area of the city, two rooms and a kitchen and an atrium that spilled over onto a negligible enclosed courtyard. Chloe spent most of her days in the courtyard, recovering from her latest series of surgical reclamations. When the medications to fight the pain and the ones to fight off infection and the ones to fight the nausea left her too weak to care for the plants, Lex did it for her. He'd move around the courtyard, adding a new shrub or flower, carrying water from the fountain in the corner to each plant in turn, talking to her all the while. She'd smile, answering sometimes, other times just nodding.He knew how she felt. Everything she loved had been torn away from her in a single instant and the only thing she had left to rely on was the son of the man who'd taken it. 

 

He fitted his key in the lock of the door, it'd been loose when they'd rented the place but he had long since replaced it and reinforced the door itself. He knew it was futile, but the gestures seemed to comfort Chloe and so he performed them faithfully. Locked doors wouldn't keep Lionel Luthor out, their only defense was to simply stay away from him. The disease would kill him eventually, they just had to stay alive until it did.

 

Closing the door behind him, he called for Chloe.

 

"Here!" she answered, and he followed her voice out onto the patio.

 

She was watering the latest collection of flowers he'd brought home. Lex picked up a floppy straw hat from where it lay on the stone floor. 

 

At his approach she glanced down, tugging at a scarf that covered her hair and wrapped loosely around her neck. 

 

"The surgeon said no sun," he reminded her gently.

 

He settled the hat on her head and raised her chin to look at him. He brushed a lock of hair from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear beneath the hat.

 

"I've got sunscreen on," she protested, looking up at him and squinting against the bright sunlight.

 

"Good," Lex accepted. "How about some lunch?" 

 

He walked back inside quickly and began unpacking the two plain bags - vegetables for a salad, apples and dried cranberries, chicken. 

 

"I got a halfway decent bottle of wine, not the caliber I'm accustomed to, but it is palatable," he chatted.

 

Chloe took it from him as he pulled the bottle from the bag.

 

"Wonder what the drinking age is around here?" she mused.

 

Lex took the bottle back. "Trust me," he assured her, "you're with a Luthor, you're legal."

 

Her face clouded as he used the name. Lex came from behind the counter-bar.

 

"Chloe, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring - "

 

"It's okay," she painted on her too-quick, too-bright smile, the one that never seemed to reach her eyes anymore.

"All of this is my fault. If I had stood up to my father instead of going to the FBI, if I'd paid more attention, I shouldn't have underestimated him - "

 

"You can't second guess yourself, you did what you thought was the right thing at the time."

 

"Like you did?" he questioned sagely, taking her hands in his.

 

Hands were tough, the surgeon in Tel Aviv had said. They were almost impossible, he'd said. But then he'd worked miracles with grafts and stem-cell therapy, and a few other techniques that still hadn't quite made the approved list, but Luthor money bought a lot a things. Her hands would never be soft and impossibly delicate as they had been before, but neither did they tell the story of a young woman who had managed to claw her way out of the incinerated debris of her life.

 

When she pulled her hands from his and tugged the sleeves of the her white shirt down across them self-consciously, he returned to the claustrophobic kitchen and finished unpacking his purchases. Chloe looked at him, really looked at him for the first time in a long time, noticing how shadowed his eyes were, the pale skin more translucent than before, the dark circles, the endless tiredness that always seemed to be with him these days.

 

They moved around each other like ghosts for the rest of the afternoon, eating a late supper in silence until Chloe excused her to her room for the night. 

 

Lex sat in their small den and turned on the TV for company. He'd had trouble sleeping since the moment he'd woken in Metropolis Medical Centre, head and body on fire and electric with pain. Sometimes, awake in the middle of the night with only bad Australian reruns for company, he wondered where Clark was and how he was and why didn't he at least come for Chloe. In his soul, he knew if Clark were alive he would have come for her. He would have heard her, as Lex did, crying out in her troubled, unforgiving sleep, calling out for her father, for other lost friends, and always, inevitably, for Clark. Like she did now.

 

Lex wasn't sure when he had fallen for the courageous young woman, but he knew he had the first time she had cried for Clark in her sleep. He hadn't felt jealousy, or anger, as he had with companions in the past.

 

He'd felt pain. Pain and the desire to be the man she called out for. He'd gone to her bedside then, unable to do more than clutch her hand through the night. He'd gone to her every time the nightmares interrupted her sleep since then, holding her until she fell asleep again. And then he'd watch her thru the rest of the night. Just like tonight. 

 

When she cried out, he went to her immediately, wanting to tell her she was safe, he was there. She was crying, face pressed into the pillow so he wouldn't hear. He sat next to her, holding one hand until she finally looked at him. He realized she'd taken off the layers of gauze covering the left side of her face and hairline.

 

"The doctor said to leave the bandages on for at least another week," he admonished gently.

"I just wanted to see. I needed to know," she explained, "it's the not knowing that's the worst."

"You have to give it some time, Chloe. I know you're tired, just give it some more time."

 

She choked back a quiet sob. "It's not like I was a raving beauty before, but I just want to look normal again."

 

"You were always beautiful," he argued, wanting to tell her that he didn't see the scars. "You still are, you just can't realize it right now.

 

She smiled. "Thank you for saying that."

 

She got up, going into her bathroom as she always did. This time, when he heard the shower turn on, he followed her, pushing the door open hesitantly. She stood in front of the mirror, her bathrobe open, inspecting the damages slowly being undone by a long string of doctors. Her face was slimmer, but the angles were still as soft, her eyes still large and open to every emotion she felt, only a faint silvery line tucked into her hairline to mark where the surgeons had repaired the broken cheekbone and grafted new skin, a red, newer one to mark the latest surgery. Her fingers traced over her shoulder where the mottled-red, almost plastic looking skin was all that remained from third-degree burns. 

 

She met his gaze in the mirror and he could see how desperately she wanted to draw the robe together again, to hide from him again. He willed her not to, moving behind her, covering her fingers where they worried the scar on her shoulder. Slipping his fingers beneath the thick terrycloth, he pulled the robe down, letting it slide along her arms.

 

"You have no idea how beautiful you are, nothing could ever take away from that and for now you'll just have to trust me to see it for you."

 

She turned to face him, for once not hiding behind clothing. Her skin would never be perfect again but he didn't care. He reached up carefully to rub the pads of his thumbs over her collarbone, outward onto her skin, drawing the backs of his fingers down over the curve of her breasts, across her ribs and belly and back again. She shivered, goosebumps rising in the wake of his caress. His hands moved up her neck to her jaw, he traced her bottom lip with a finger before leaning down. Open-mouthed, he brushed his lips across hers. Chloe let the robe drop to the tile floor and reached up to rest her hands on his forearms. He smoothed his thumb across her mouth again and closed his lips on hers, tugging at her soft skin with his mouth. He stroked h is knuckles across her nipples and pressed his mouth against her neck to feel her deep, throaty moan. He wrapped his hands around her shoulders and she leaned the weight of her upper body against them, arching her back as his mouth slid over her skin, nipping her collarbone. 

 

Her hands went to his shirt, pulling it free and slipping the buttons quickly to push it off his shoulders. Lex shrugged out it, tossing it to the floor with her robe. He kissed her, his tongue teasing her lips open. She kissed him back, shyly at first but more and more demanding as her passion built to match his own. He pressed his mouth to her shoulder, his lips soft against her skin as he passed over the discoloration left by burns and the surgeon's knife. His caresses continued until he was at the juncture of her neck. Her hair had been damaged by the explosion and cut away for the surgeries to her scalp, had grown back in its natural colour. He smoothed the dark strands away, tickling her neck with his breath and lips, loving it when she tensed up and shivered, goose bumps washing over her skin. Inevitably, the faint red lines drew his attention again and he closed his eyes. 

 

In a million years, he would never have wanted to see this woman hurt. Chloe felt the change in him and turned her back to him, pressing her hands over the scars.

 

Lex peeled them away, wrapping his arms around her. He mouthed kisses along the slope of her shoulder. He raised his head, looking at her through the mirror. 

 

"Look at me, Chloe," he whispered.

 

He felt like he'd waited forever when she finally looked up, meeting the reflection of his eyes. She drank in the look there, the hungry one that told her how much he wanted her. Reaching back, she traced his mouth with the tip of one finger and he caught it with his lips, never taking his eyes off hers. Turning her head, she pressed her mouth to his quickly, brushing across his mouth and catching his bottom lip with her teeth briefly. Her tongue darted out to lick the corner of his mouth as she let go.

 

He pulled away from her, drawing a shaky breath and whispering against the corner of her mouth, 

" ~ make love to me ~ "

 

Chloe shifted uneasily under his scrutiny and he sensed his actions had left her nervous. He kissed her again, wanting to tell her again how beautiful she was, wanting to tell her that the scars did nothing to detract from that beauty, but knowing the words would appear empty and suspect if he said them just then. They'd wait till another time.....

 

Lex covered her mouth with his, more urgently this time, wanting to go slow but wanting the contact with her more. He slid his hand between her legs, cupping the dark triangle of hair at the top of her legs, his fingers at the darker skin between them. He wasn't sure how fast to go, he wanted to take his time and explore every inch of her but the driving urge to touch her, taste her, to be inside of her, was compelling and hard to resist. He forgot his debate when she parted her legs slightly, inviting his touch.

 

He gently pushed between the folds of skin to the inner lips of her sex, his fingers drinking in the hot, wet flesh. She gasped and he tugged at the engorged nub, stroking it slowly. 

 

Her head fell back against him, her eyes closed, concentrating on the elusive tendrils of pleasure radiating from between her legs and drifting into the rest of her body. Lex watched the play of feeling across her face, enjoying doing this to her. He slid his finger inside her body and laughed as her eyes flew open.

"Yes?" he teased. 

 

"Again," she babbled, happy to have formed that one coherent word. 

Pulling her away from the sink, he pressed her against the wall, pressing his fingers into her again, deeper this time, and kissed her, his tongue mimicking the actions of his hand.

 

He knelt in front of her, pressing his mouth to the slit of dark flesh, his tongue slipping between the folds to lap at the nub, his fingers continuing to stroke inside of her. Chloe's knees, already shaky, bent as she caught herself on his shoulders. Smiling, he stood, lifting her into his arms. He lay her across the bed, kneeling between her knees.

 

"Now where was I?" he teased.

 

"Right about there," Chloe directed, giving his head a playful push in the right direction.

 

"Yes, ma'am." He lowered his mouth between her legs, his hands at her waist. He pushed his tongue into the entrance of her body and held on to her hips as she came off the bed. He flicked his tongue over the sensitive nub and gently closed his teeth on it, tugging at it. He held her down firmly and suckled it, raking over it with his teeth.

 

Chloe whimpered under his mouth, writhing and twisting against the confinement of his hands. Lex pushed her further, loving what his attentions were doing to her. He could feel she was close to coming, feel it in the wetness between her legs. She grasped his hands and he let go of her hips to thread his fingers with hers, holding on tightly in response to her grip. She arched her back as the orgasm hit her, falling to the mattress limply, eyes closed and breathing hard.

 

Lex crawled onto the bed beside her and Chloe immediately wrapped herself around him. She kissed him, tasting herself in his mouth and it fascinated her.

 

"Are you cold?" he asked, his mouth brushing her hair. 

 

"Actually, I'm kinda hot," she argued, reaching down to caress him through his trousers.

 

He was already hard and she rasped her nails across his erection, stroking him with the heel of her hand. He closed his eyes and enjoyed being groped by her. She had never struck him as shy, and she proved it now. Pulling at the buttons of his trousers, she slipped her hands inside them as she got them unbuttoned, wrapping her strong fingers around him. She pumped his cock, pressing her hips into his, trapping her hand between them. Her thumb smoothed over the head and he thrust into the contact. 

 

"I want to be inside you, Chloe," his voice was low and intense, strained with the desire to be inside her, the need to thrust into her body and to move inside of her, slam into her and feel her explode around him.

 

She wrapped her legs around him and he pushed her drawers aside, pushing himself inside her. She whimpered, twisting against him but he held her hips firmly with his. He caught her mouth, slipping his tongue between her lips and licking across her bottom teeth. She held his face with both hands and kissed him hungrily, arching her hips into his. He could taste himself on her tongue and her lips and it fed the hunger inside him. He hitched his hips against hers, driving himself deeper into her body. 

 

Chloe threw her head back, her body tightening around his, and gasped, a strangled sound that only fueled his desire for her. He pulled back, thrusting into her fiercely and she wrapped her hands around his shoulders, meeting him thrust for thrust. She looked into his eyes, hers dark and intense and he loved having the power to do this to her, to use his body to arouse her and make her frenzied and wild. He gripped her hips, pushing himself into her over and over until they both came, breathing hard and sweating despite the cool night air. He leaned into her, his face pressed into the skin of her neck and let his body come down while she pressed kisses to his forehead, giggling a little between each soft brush of her lips on his skin. 

 

"Hi," he whispered, raising his face up to hers. His body was feeling rubbery from the force of his orgasm but the last thing he wanted was to move.

 

"Hi, yourself," Chloe echoed, smiling back at him.


End file.
